To Search Without Hope of Finding
by silveraven-98
Summary: The crash of a ship on Eternia brings an unexpected addition into the palace and something new into the life of ManatArms.
1. From the Stars

**-Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Masters of the Universe world. The only things that are mine are the new characters I introduce. I am making no profit by playing with someone else's toys.-**

**-1- From the stars**

The royal family of Eternia sat outside in the palace gardens around one of the stone tables as the sun set on the horizon. The evening was calm and relaxing. Skeletor hadn't been heard from in several weeks and the anticipation of attack was beginning to fade. Orko was entertaining the King, Queen and Prince while Cringer napped at Adam's feet. Man-at-Arms and his daughter Teela joined them as Orko showed off his newest trick. A handful of birds perched on Orko's outstretched arm. He cued the birds to sing as a conductor cues and orchestra. As the birds finished they each bowed to the audience and received a round of delighted applause.

"That was a very impressive trick Orko." Man-at-Arms said with a smile.

Orko bowed to the warrior. "Thank you – I have been working on it for sometime now." As the small wizard straightened he startled the birds into flight. Everyone laughed and ducked as the birds scattered, one of them leaving a spot on the top of Man-at-Arms helmet with a splat as it flew away. Teela fought to hide a laugh as her father fumed at the magician.

"ORKO!"

The Trollan streaked behind Prince Adam for protection but before anyone could say another word a bright light streaked across the dimming sky. Cringer ducked under the garden table as a large crash sounded in the distance.

King Randor turned to his long time friend, mild concern coloring his features. "A meteor perhaps, Duncan?"

"I'm not sure, Sire. If you wish, I can take the Attack-trac and check it out."

The King nodded his agreement and Adam stood, stepping forward. "Would you like some company Duncan?"

"Certainly Prince Adam. Teela, are coming as well?"

Teela shook her head. "Not this time, I should stay here. I have some new guards on duty this evening."

Man-at-Arms nodded and the two men left King and Queen with Teela in the clearing.

----- -----

After several minutes of traveling into the Evergreen Forest in the Attack-trac, Man-at-Arms and the Prince reached the top of a ridge bordering a valley on the edge of the forest. The sight that met their eyes shocked them. There was a deep trench cutting across the valley floor and at the far side of the valley half embedded in a hillside was a large metal ship. The craft was unlike anything they had seen before and it was smoking, being on fire in several places. Without a word, Man-at-Arms put the Attack-trac into high gear and sped across the valley through the trail of debris.

"You don't think anyone is in there yet, do you, Duncan?"

Man-at-Arms looked grim as they approached the wreckage. "I certainly hope the pilot got out but we had better check."

Adam nodded and they began climbing out of the armored tank. "We'd better hurry. That ship doesn't look real stable."

The two of them pried on the smashed escape door trying to get into the ship but the door wouldn't budge. A small explosion near the tail of the craft spurred the prince into action. He stepped back from the burning wreck and drew his sword. "BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!"

Man-at-Arms raised his arm to shield his eyes as lightening enveloped the prince and he morphed into He-Man. He stepped forward and pulled the door off its bent hinges. They both ducked inside to check for the pilot, trying not to inhale the smoke that was filling the ship. They found two prone figures slumped in the pilot chairs. He-man pulled the nearest person from the chair. Man-at-Arms went to the other. The other pilot was slumped forward and he had to ease him back into the chair to unbuckle him from the chair. A low moan issued from the helmet the pilot wore. Man-at-Arms carefully unlatched the helmet from the flight suit the pilot was wearing and eased the helmet off to see how badly he was hurt. His breath caught in his throat as he looked down into the face of a young woman. She looked at him with disoriented, unfocused grey eyes.

"Man-at-Arms!" He-Man called from outside the wreckage.

Man-at-Arms finished unbuckling the woman. He started to pick her up and she began struggling against him. "Easy," Man-at-Arms said as he caught hold of her shoulder. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You're safe." She stopped fighting him and her eyes slid closed. Another explosion rocked the ship as he rushed out the door carrying the woman. He rushed towards the Attack-Trac when He-Man yelled out.

"DUNCAN! Get Down!"

He dropped to the ground and shielded the woman from the blast as the ship exploded. Several large pieces of metal clanged against his body armor. As the metal quit raining down, He-Man rushed to his friend's side. Kneeling beside Man-at-Arms he looked down at the unconscious woman. "We need to get them back to the palace. The other pilot is in really bad shape."

Duncan nodded and scooped up the woman. He carried her with ease to the Attack-trac and laid her gently down, trying to make both injured pilots as comfortable as possible while He-Man turned the trac back toward the palace.

----- -----

The royal family of Eternia weren't the only ones to see the streak across the sky. Skeletor and Evil-lyn stood looking off in the distance from the top of Snake Mountain. Evil-Lyn had conjured a window to see what had caused the light in the sky. They had watched as Man-at-Arms had carried the woman from the wreckage and dropped to the ground to protect her as the ship had exploded.

Skeletor now stood thoughtfully contemplating. Evil-lyn knew better than to interrupt until her master was ready to speak. He suddenly turned to face the witch. "Evil-lyn. I want you to get inside the palace and find these two foreigners. With the power that ship had when it exploded, they must know some way to breech the defenses of Greyskull. I want to know what it is."

"But Skeletor, they will be under heavy guard in the palace hospital. I can get into the palace but… how will I get past the guards?"

Skeletor leered at her. "With this." He reached his hand and pulled a cloak from his shoulder. He flipped the cloak around the witch and she disappeared.

"What is this?" she asked.

"An invisibility cloak. Tri-clops found it hidden in some ruins in the Symian Jungle. You can get into the palace in disguise and use the cloak to get close to the foreigners. When you have the opportunity, bring them back here to Snake Mountain. I am looking forward to having a long chat with them." Evil-lyn shrugged off the cloak, draping it carefully over her arm and changed her appearance with magic to that of an old woman. With a nod to her master that she was ready, Skeletor opened a space portal and she stepped through to the fertile plans not far from the palace.

----- -----

There was an enormous flurry of activity within the palace when the heroes returned. Man-at-Arms had called ahead for Teela to ready the healers for incoming wounded. The guards were waiting with the healers in the courtyard as He-Man stopped the Attack-trac. The injured pilots were carefully taken to the medical wing to be tended. Duncan stopped one of the healers briefly, questioning the status of the two foreigners.

"We need to get the man taken care of immediately. He has severe internal injuries. It will be a very tenuous situation, I don't know if he will be strong enough to recover."

Man-at-Arms slightly lowered his voice. "And the woman?"

"Her injuries aren't as severe but she is also in critical condition right now. I must go to help my colleagues, sir. You can check in on them both later this evening."

As the young healer jogged to follow his departing fellows, Man-at-Arms closed his eyes briefly, unable to shake the vision of a pair of grey eyes from his memory.


	2. Laying in the Dark

**-2- Laying in the Dark**

Teela walked up beside her father who was standing outside the room the healers were working. They had done the best they could and had gotten the injured man into a moderately stable condition. Man-at-Arms had since taken up a vigil; standing outside the woman's room with his arms crossed over his chest as they worked to repair her wounds. She had suffered a great deal of internal injuries as well, fortunately not to the extent of her partner. The hour was late when they had been able to start on the woman and now it was very early in the morning. Teela noted her father had lines of worry at the corners of his mouth and across his forehead. He looked very worn to her at that moment. The fact he hadn't even taken time to change from his armor, scorched and dented from the debris when the ship exploded, didn't go unnoticed either. He startled the tiniest bit when she laid her hand on his shoulder, no one else but Teela would have noticed the slight movement.

"Father, it's late. You should get some rest. The healers can notify you if anything happens."

He placed a hand on his daughter's. "I am fine, Teela….." He didn't finish the thought as one of the chief healers came out of the door. Man-at-Arms fixed a questioning look on the healer.

The grey haired woman motioned for them to step across out of the doorway to the far side of the hall. "She is a fighter. I have seen injuries like that kill others. She has a moderate concussion, some nasty burns on her side, her liver was bruised and one of her lungs looked like it might collapse for a while but she is still in far better condition than her shipmate. She's sleeping now. I don't expect her to wake up for a day or two while her body repairs itself."

Man-at-Arms nodded and watched as the healer retreated to finish getting her charge settled. Teela quietly watched her father for a moment. There was something different in the way he was paying attention to these two people. She shook her head and decided that he would tell her when he was ready. The patients being both as well as could be expected, Man-at-Arms turned to his daughter and gave her a tired smile. Putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close he began walking towards the direction of their rooms.

----- -----

Man-at-Arms stood at his window looking out over the Fertile Plains. He had been standing at the window looking out at the moonlight bathed landscape for sometime now. He knew by this time Teela was surely sound asleep but he couldn't relax enough for sleep. He looked down at the scrap of material in his hand. The woman from the wreck had been holding it clutched in her hand and he had found it as they were driving back to the palace. He held the rough patch in the palm of his hand. He had seen the same thing years ago. He sighed and looked down and studied the red and white stripes.

----- -----

Evil-lyn stalked her way down the streets of Eternos now disguised as an old beggar woman. She quietly slipped her way into the back door of the stable of an inn. It certainly wasn't the comforts she was used to but sleeping in a warm hayloft was preferable to sleeping on the streets. As she climbed the ladder into the hay loft she made her plans for the next day. In the morning she would wander the streets listening for gossip on the newcomers to the palace. Once she had a bite of information she would follow the trail to one of the taverns frequented by the off duty guards. Once the drinking ensues she knew she'd be able to glean just about any information she wanted about the palace. She smiled as she lay back in the hay. _Yes, tomorrow would be a productive day._

----- -----

The first rays of light crept across the ceiling above Man-at-Arms' bed. He had lain down at some point but didn't sleep. He simply stared into the dark at his ceiling and he grazed his thumb over the rough cloth patch in his hand, getting lost in the repetitive movement. Now that morning had broken he rose from the bed and got ready for the day. The first thing he wanted to do was go see how the injured pair from the crash had made it through the night.

He wasn't the only one who had this thought. He had stopped by the man's room first, finding him still unconscious and clinging precariously to life. He nodded to the healer tending him and moved along to check on the woman. He had been standing in the doorway waiting for the healers to finish for only a moment when King Randor's voice came from behind him. "How are our guests, Duncan?"

Man-at-Arms turned to see both the king and queen standing behind him with expectant faces. He glanced back over his shoulder as one of the healers left the room. "The man He-man got out of the ship is still in very bad condition. I haven't checked on the woman yet." The King motioned towards the door for Man-at-Arms to lead the way. Entering the room, they all got their first good look at the young lady. She had a brown hair that seemed to show reddish in spots. Her skin was pale, made more so by her injuries to the point of her looking nearly white. Bruises were starting to form, making ugly reddish, black marks on her arms, shoulders and face. Man-at-Arms could well imagine how colored the rest of her extremities must be. Her face wasn't fine but it was pretty with a clean cut look to her. Even as she slept they could see a strong set to her face.

The queen was the first to speak, her voice soft enough to not spoil the stillness in the room. "Where do you think they are from, Duncan?"

Randor added another question before Man-at-Arms could answer the queen. "And do you think they could be working for Skeletor?"

Duncan glanced briefly over at the woman as she rested before answering his longtime friend. "I doubt they are working with Skeletor."

Randor looked slightly puzzled at the tone of Duncan's voice. "How can you bee so sure?"

Duncan reached out to hand the patch to the Queen. "Because of this."

Marlena took the patch and inhaled sharply as she recognized the symbols on it. Randor looked over her shoulder still perplexed. He looked at the circular patch she held. There was a bird with its wings spread. It was holding a piece of a plant in one of its feet and a bundle of arrows in the other. In front of it was a shield striped red and white and topped with a patch of blue with stars in it. He couldn't read the words written in the border of the patch since his wife's thumb partially covered them. His wife looked up him as she spoke. "They're from Earth. This is from the Air Force for the United States." She looked at the unconscious woman completely awestruck. "What were you doing that you ended up here?" If the woman could hear the queen's question there was no response.

----- -----

"So they're really from Earth?" Prince Adam asked, ignoring his late breakfast. He and Teela had been working on his sword work and had decided to eat later rater than stop in the middle of their workout.

"It would seem so. The woman was holding the patch in her hand when they were rescued." Teela said as she reached for the bowl of fruit in the center of the table. "Father has been checking in on them nearly every hour in between his usual duties."

Adam chuckled as he went back to his sandwich. "Is he making sure they aren't a threat?"

Teela joined in laughing, knowing how overcautious her father could be.

----- -----

In fact at that very moment Man-at-Arms was helping the healers move the woman into a more comfortable room. They had decided she was stable enough to be taken out of the hospital wing. After they had her resting comfortably in her new rooms the healers departed leaving Man-at-Arms to study his self-appointed charge. She was a mystery to him. They had sent word of what had happened to Queen Marlena back to Earth with the pair of _What had they called themselves?...oh yes...Astronauts._ He couldn't understand why they would send any other ships into danger knowing the wormhole was there. A low, pained sigh pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking at the woman he could see her brow was furrowed in pain as she was starting to wake. He reached out and gently stroked her hair as he had whenever Teela had been sick as a child. "Easy. Try to be still. You're still in very rough condition."

Her eyes blinked open and he recalled the distant and dazed look in them from the crash. She looked a bit disorientated but was fast taking in her surroundings. Man-at-Arms thought to himself the woman must have the constitution of an ox to be waking up already.

She blinked a few times to clear her vision as she looked at him. Her grey eyes finally managed to focus on him. Their color reminded him of old castle ruins, pale weathered grey- blue stone with hints of green moss. She tried to speak but the words came as barely a breathy whisper. Man-at-Arms shook his head and leaned closer to hear her. She cleared her throat and tried again, this time her voice being slightly stronger. "What…happened?"

"We're not sure yet. All we know is your ship crashed. We rescued you and your partner before the ship exploded."

She closed her eyes and swallowed. Her voice was coming back to her a little bit more with each try. "Where am I?"

Man-at-Arms grinned inwardly. _You wouldn't believe me if I told you._ "You're safe, among friends. You were injured and our healers have been treating your wounds."

"Is Rio… Captain Travers alright?"

Man-at-Arms didn't want to lie to her but he also didn't want to cause her undue stress. She may be better than this Captain Travers but she still needed to rest and heal. "He's fighting his injuries and healing just as you are. The healers are doing their best for the both of you."

Contented with that answer she relaxed into the pillows, her eyes beginning to fall closed.

"What is your name?" Man-at-Arms asked before she completely drifted back to sleep.

She inhaled deeply as if to form the answer required more energy than she had. "Leah…my name is Leah. Lieutenant Commander Leah Stratheron." She didn't say another word as unconsciousness claimed her once again.

----- -----

Man-at-Arms stayed a few more minutes after she fell back asleep before going to find one of the healers to apprise them of the situation. The healer was as surprised as he had been. From there he continued on to the throne room to find King Randor and Queen Marlena. They had left instructions to be notified of any changes in the condition of the pair. The trip to bring the royals up to speed took only a few minutes and from there he continued to his work shop. He had several vehicles that needed repairs. Working on the machines, he was concentrating and didn't notice how late it had gotten until Orko drifted into the room.

"Weren't you hungry tonight, Man-at-Arms?"

Duncan pulled himself from underneath one of the wind raiders. "What are you talking about Okro?"

"Well you missed supper."

Man-at-Arms pulled himself up off the floor. "Is it that late already?"

A new voice joined the discussion. "Yes it is, father." Teela walked into the room carrying a plate of food. "I saved you something."

He grinned at his daughter and sat down on the edge of his work bench to eat. Orko drifted out to leave the two of them alone to talk. Man-at-Arms was midway through the plate before Teela spoke. "The King and Queen said the woman woke up earlier."

Her father nodded but said nothing.

She looked puzzled by his lack of comment. "You don' trust them even though they are from Earth?"

He set down the nearly finished plate before he answered. "I just don't understand why their superiors would send another crew into danger knowing full well about the wormhole to Eternia. It doesn't make sense."

Teela mulled this over and nodded. "Well there is little we can do about it until they are better. At least right now they are no threat. If you think it is a good idea, I can have guards posted outside the rooms once they are more recovered."

"No, we will trust them as Queen Marlena's countrymen. We will wait to see."


	3. Right in Front of You

**A/N - Sorry for the delay. I found out shortly after I had started this chapter that our business was going to be closed and I was out of a job. Trying to deal with that, my 85 year old grandmother being on the verge of dying and the holidays themselves have kinda done a number on my free time. Thanks for the patience. **

**-3- Right in Front of You**

It was late in the morning the next day when Man-at-Arms finally had a moment to check on Leah. He had wondered all morning if she had woken up again and was concerned she might wake with no one there. Unfortunately there was no way he could abandon his duties to stay there the whole day. Man-at-Arms walked briskly down the hall, happy with the fact he was able to get there now. He was stunned when he walked into the room to see the sunlight spilling through the window onto an empty bed. There was a tray of untouched food on the stand near by. He didn't have long to wonder where Leah was. He felt a knife pressed firmly against his neck.

"Where am I?" a low, husky voice spoke into his ear.

Man-at-Arms didn't want to make any of her healing injuries worse by disarming her so he let her question him. "You are in the palace of Eternia."

She moved around just enough to look at his face. Her face was mottled with colorful bruises. He was amazed she had managed to not break her nose in the crash. She studied his face for a brief moment and her eyes narrowed. He felt the pressure lessen on the knife. "I know you."

"A friend and I rescued you and your companion from your ship. You crashed and you were both hurt."

She studied him a moment more and then lowered the knife. "What is your name?"

Man-at-Arms turned to face her and slowly reached his hand out to take the knife as he answered her. She handed it over without a fuss. "My name is Man-at-Arms but you may call me Duncan."

Leah's exertions finally caught up to her and she began to feel dizzy. Shaking her head to clear he vision, she reached for the door frame to steady herself but Man-at-Arms caught hold of her arm instead. She was mildly surprised at his strength as he led her back to the bed. It only took a moment before she was settled in and he placed the tray of food across her lap. She smiled a little sheepishly. "Thank you." She picked up the cup of now lukewarm broth and sipped it. "You said I was in a palace…am I a some sort of prisoner?"

Man-at-Arms shook his head. "Not at all. King Randor was concerned for you and your partner. He only wanted to see you both better."

Her head came up as his words suddenly seemed to register. "Where is Captain Travers? Is he alright?"

Before Duncan could formulate an answer, several healers rushed past the door distracting them both. He was puzzled by the commotion and excused himself to investigate. Stepping out into the hallway, he stopped the next healer to pass by and questioned him on the situation. Hearing the answer, Man-at-Arms hurried back into the room and took the tray from across Leah's lap. She gave him a questioning look. Not answering her, he went to one of the closets in the room while she got up again. He grabbed a robe from the closet and tossed it to her. "C'mon, I think you are going to need to be there." He held out his hand to her.

Without another word, she pulled on the robe and took hold of his offered hand. With her hand wrapped in his strong grasp, she was then being led down several corridors deeper into the palace. It was only a few moment when the reached a scene that reminded her of many of the medical drama shows back home. There were people milling around everywhere. Obviously Captain Travers had taken a turn for the worse and they were fighting to stabilize him. Leah stepped forward to see what was going on and to try to hear what had happened. Man-at-Arms was about to stop her when the king and queen appeared at his side.

The king looked at the commotion around the room. "What happened, Duncan?"

"The healers said he had some sort of hemorrhage. They are having a difficult time controlling the blood loss after all his other injuries."

The royal couple exchanged concerned looks before noticing Leah was standing a few feet away from them. Queen Marlena moved to speak to the woman when alarms went off in the room and one of the healers called for some piece of equipment. Leah pushed her way through the barrier of medical personnel, all of them too stunned to stop her. She took hold of the captain's hands and squeezed hard. Her voice cut through the room like the crack of a whip. "CAPTAIN TRAVERS…YOU WILL NOT STOP FIGHTING! WAKE UP!" The readings on the monitor changed. They were still unstable but there was definitely some change. Leah looked back down at his face. "I SAID WAKE UP! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

The healers were shocked for a moment at the woman being on her feet at all and being there in the thick of the fight for her comrade's life. The captain took an unsteady breath and for the first time, he managed to open his eyes. Leah grinned down at him. He moved his mouth to speak but no words came out. Leah read his lips and grinned. _You don't out rank me._ She squeezed his hand again. "You can take it up with a panel of inquiry when we get home." The corner of his mouth twitched up for a moment before his eyes rolled back and all expression faded from his face again. His head dropped back on to his pillow. Alarms went off all around the room. Leah shook his shoulder. "Travers! Captain Travers!" He was slipping away, she could tell that looking up at the screens blinking. "Dammit. Rio! RIO! C'MON Pull out of this! You've handled worse than this before your morning coffee! RIO!"

There was no response this time and a healer pulled her away so they could attempt revive him. They tried to no avail. The healers shut off the screens and alarms as Leah stood by silently watching, her arms crossed over her stomach. After a moment the healers parted and Leah stepped to the side of the bed. She looked at the body of her friend and partner. All but one of the healers slowly filtered out of the room. Leah didn't move for several minutes, simply staring at Rio's unmoving form. Man-at-Arms, the king and queen quietly stepped into the room. Leah turned her head slightly, acknowledging the movement behind her, before reaching down to pull the sheet up over the captain's head. She closed her eyes to compose herself before turning to face Duncan and whoever else was there.

She was shocked to see the king and queen standing behind her with concern written across their features. Her fatigue from her earlier attack on Man-at-Arms and the stress of the situation caught up to her again and she swayed, grabbing for closest solid object. Man-at-Arms leapt forward, wrapping his arm around her waist to keep her from sinking to the floor. She looked pale and shaky as they group left the room, Leah leaning heavily on Man-at-Arms. She glanced up at the queen several times as they led her across the hallway into an unused room. As Duncan eased her down into a chair it finally hit her why the woman wearing the crown looked so familiar. "Marlena Glenn…You're Marlena Glenn. There is a memorial for you at Cape Canaveral"

The queen looked particularly surprised by the pronouncement. "Yes. I would have thought that the other astronauts would have cleared that up."

Leah looked confused for a moment as her brain fought to work through the problem. Her mind finally gave her the answer. "The astronauts sent to stop the meteor. Of course, you wouldn't know about that." She shook her head a moment in annoyance at herself. "There were damages to the ship, they didn't make it back. The ship burned up in the atmosphere. The only thing we knew was that they lost contact for some time and that they managed to stop the rock." She sank back in the chair, her head falling back, reciting the events having sapped the rest of her energy. Man-at-Arms noted to himself the explanation to why Leah and her companion were sent out. Their superiors simply didn't know about the dangerous wormhole.

Grief hung heavy in the room. The astronauts had become friends in the short time they had been on Eternia and the sorrow of their loss was added to the sadness in the air. King Randor stepped forward and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "We are all very sorry for the loss of your comrade."

Leah picked up her head to look at the king "Thank you." she said quietly and slid her gaze over to the queen. "You were part of the Air Force before joining the space program; do you remember the specifics of a military burial?"

Marlena nodded.

"Is it possible to arrange that here?"

The king answered for his wife. "We will make whatever arrangements need to be made."

Satisfied with that, her head tipped off to the side and she studied the wall for a scant moment before she was asleep.

----- -----

It was three days later when all the preparations were finished under the queen's careful supervision. Leah spent most of those days in bed, hardly speaking and staring numbly out the window. Several times members of the royal family came to keep her company. They didn't know if she was normally that quiet and withdrawn or if it was a reaction to her partner's death.

A small grove on the edge of the Evergreen Forest was chosen for the burial site. Leah stood with the King, Queen, Prince Adam, Man-at-Arms, and Teela as the casket was removed from and attack-trac by a troop of the royal guard in formal uniforms. The queen had worked with the tailors to have a flag made and this was draped across the coffin. Leah watched from her place in the small crowd as the guards hefted the casket to their shoulders and carried it the distance to the grave. She self-consciously tugged at the grey tunic she wore, feeling very out of uniform during this somber ceremony.

After settling the casket into place, they carefully lifted the edges of the flag and folded it as the queen had instructed. The lead guard turned on his heel and formally presented the triangular folded flag to Leah. She accepted the flag with a smart salute to the guard, tucking it into the crook of her elbow. The guard returned to his fellows and they raised weapons. Being used to the sound of lasers, the loud crack as the seven guards fired made the entire group jump, except Leah and the Queen. Three shots from each guard. After the last shot rang out, the eighth guard raised a horn to his lips and began to play a piece of music Man-at-Arms later learned was called "Taps". He was surprised when Leah stepped forward out ahead of the group from the palace as the music was played. She stood straight as if a board was strapped to her back and saluted the casket as it began to lower. She stood that way; expressionless and at attention, with the flag under her arm until the casket was completely lowered. She then turned on her heel and nodded her silent thanks to the queen. A noise from above caused them all to look up. A falcon circled the site and let out another cry.

Prince Adam and Man-at-Arms exchanged looks, knowing they needed to get the rest of the group back to the palace before going to Greyskull. Fortunately, there was nothing else to the ceremony they were observing for the fallen solider and Leah, drained from the ordeal, needed to get back to rest. It was less than an hour later when Adam and Man-at-Arms crossed the drawbridge to Greyskull.

The two men entered the throne room to find the sorceress sitting on her throne. She smiled down at her guests. "How is the woman healing?"

Man-at-Arms spoke up. "Leah seems to be healing well according to the healers. She took her partner's death very hard."

Adam nodded. "She has hardly spoken to anyone. Mother, Teela and I tried to talk to her while making the arrangements for the burial but she hardly spoke."

The sorceress was quiet and thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "She is alone now, in a strange world. I feel fear from her. She wants to trust that we are friends."

Duncan looked uncomfortable as he asked the next question. "Sorceress, you don't believe she is a threat, do you? You don't think…."

The wise woman cut off his thought, shaking her head. "No; Skeletor had nothing to do with the crash or their arrival." She looked off in the distance for a moment again. "However, I am certain Skeletor will attempt trouble." Her eyes focused on Duncan meaningfully. "I would recommend taking close care of her." She turned her gaze to Adam. "There is something about this woman that Greyskull is calling to. Once she is well enough I would like to meet her."

----- -----

Evil-Lyn grimaced, rubbing her wrists as she slinked down the streets. Skeletor had been angry at the lack of information about the two foreigners several days ago. He was even angrier today when she reported the death and burial of one of the people from the spaceship hadn't been a rumor after all. He had sent a jolt of power through the link he had created to speak to her. Now her hands and wrists ached where the power had scorched her skin. It was getting to be late afternoon and she still was yet to find a way to get close to the woman. Evil-Lyn was about to sneak back to the tavern to eavesdrop on the palace guards when another conversation caught her ears.

Two women were looking over some of the foods in the market and their conversation happened to be just what Evil-Lyn was looking for. An old woman was paying one of the merchants for a basket of eggs as she spoke to her companion. "Mara, how is the woman doing since the burial?"

The younger woman looked up from the vegetables she had been examining. "Leah seems to be doing better. She is talking a little more now. She seems very sad though."

The older woman nodded. "That is to be expected, youngling, losing someone close will do that."

"Kelene, do you think there is anything I can do to help her?" the younger woman asked as they turned to leave.

The older woman nodded to her friend before speaking to the vegetable merchant. "Have these sent to Chef Alan at the palace. Tell him Kelene sent them." The merchant nodded and set aside the purchases. Now Kelene turned back to Mara. "Just give her time. She will come around. Right now she needs time to heal inside and out."

Evil-Lyn grinned to herself. That would be perfect. She snuck behind the booth and picked up one of the vegetable baskets, setting off for the palace. The two palace servants had given her the way to get into the palace as well as information on the condition of her quarry. So the woman was bedridden. That would make her task far easier. She would be able to get close to her and be back to Snake Mountain within a few days. She smiled to herself thinking of how pleased she would make Skeletor.

---- -----

Man-at-Arms peeked into Leah's room and found one of the serving girls chatting with the woman while she ate her breakfast. Nodding at the sight he slipped quietly down the hall. He would stop in to see her later in the day. He was pleased to find that she was finally starting to open up to some of the palace folk. They made sure the same servents waited on her so she had familiar faces about her. The sorceress's comment about her wanting to trust them had given Duncan the thought. If she saw the same people all the time she would be more comfortable than if an ever changing array of faces were passing by her. Not that it had been difficult. The same serving girl had already been bringing Leah her meals, Mara having developed a liking for the Earth woman. Duncan noted the two were becoming fast friends. He had also made a point of stopping in to see her daily even though she was now out of danger from her injuries. Even the healers were marveling at the speed of her recovery but were insisting she still stay confined to her bed until more of the internal bruising healed. He wondered to himself if her quickly mending wounds had anything to do with Greyskull and the statement the sorceress had made about the castle calling to her.

He was nearly to his work shop when he heard Teela call out from behind him. "Father! Wait a moment!"

Man-at-Arms paused to wait for his daughter, her tone of voice set him wondering what the trouble was. She jogged up to her father and immediately launched into an explination about a lightening strike the previous night knocking out a shield generator near a science station bordering the tar swamps. "I was thinking that since it is a relatively simple trip to go fix the generator and come back that maybe Leah would like to go along. Then she could get out of the castle for a bit."

Man-at-Arms thought a moment and sighed to himself. Even though she was healing well he wasn't sure he wanted her traveling across the realm just yet. He also knew Teela and Leah had been getting to know each other and Teela looked forward to the oppertunutiy for a long talk with Leah about the military training back on Earth. The trip would give the women that chance and the odds were that it would be perfectly safe for Leah to go but Man-at-Arms knew the healers' orders. "Teela, I think it would be best if she stayed here yet. Just until the healers say she isn't in danger of aggrevating any of her injuries."

The captain of the guard nodded, slightly disappointed and followed her father into the workshop to gather tools for the repair task. After several minutes of preparation and discussion on how the generator should be fixed, Teela left to go to the hanger bay to leave. Man-at-Arms watched her go and couldn't help but feel a twinge of trepidation. He shook off the feeling, turning to his latest invention. With any luck his new anti-grav ray would be ready for a field test in a few days. He had designed the machine to help move large pieces of building materials and to remove large debris for the farmers on the fertile plains. He spent several hours re-calibrating and adjusting the ray until he could pick up a large metal container. He heard the door open behind him and he finished moving the crate across the room before turning towards the new arrival. He had been expecting Prince Adam for some time now, figuring he must have been delayed. When he turned around he was startled to find it wasn't the prince at all. Leah was standing near the counter, leaning against it watching him.

"That is amazing. Did you design it yourself?" she asked as she stood up straight.

Man-at-Arms switched off the machine and set it on the workbench. "You aren't supposed to be out of bed." He tried to put annoyance in his tone and failed. He was glad she was able to be up and about even if she shouldn't be.

Leah shrugged and flashed a sly grin. "I feel much better and I wanted to go for a walk. It is nicer to walk when you have a destination in mind so I decided to try to find your infamous workshop. I heard you working so I decided to come in and watch." Her military training suddenly reminded her of protocol. "Oh! If I'm not supposed to be seeing this I will leave. I apologise. I didn't even think about security clearance."

Man-at-Arms chuckled at her imagined oversight. "No, no. Not at all. You are perfectly welcome to look around." She took advantage of the invitation and began looking over his other inventions while he put away the tools he had been using. He moved across the room to walk alongside her, telling her what each machine was and what it did. She surprised him by offering suggestions on how to improve certain functions of some of the inventions ad she wasn't afraid to ask him questions if she was unsure of what something was or did. They kept up the tour for nearly two hours. It was finally Leah's stomach which told them it was time she return to her room. Man-at-Arms politely offered to escort her there.

Leah sighed when they crossed the threshold of her room. Duncan could almost hear her thoughts and he grinned. "Would you like it if I stayed with you for dinner tonight?"

Leah looked surprised. "I would be delighted but won't Teela be expecting you?"

Man-at-Arms shook his head. "Teela won't be back until later this evening. She had a repair mission to take care of."

Leah smiled at that. "She must take after her father."


	4. Listen

**-4- Listen**

Man-at-Arms had to fight down a laugh as he took another drink of water. He sat across from Leah, eating off the edge of the end table next to her bed. Leah was sitting in her bed with a serving tray across her lap and she had once again managed to throw a teasing comment at him at just the wrong moment. She tried to hide a smile as he looked at her with feigned annoyance. He was actually enjoying the teasing from the woman and was relieved that she was opening up. Leah sighed and stirred her broth. Duncan gave her a questioning look. "Is there something wrong?"

Leah's grey eyes met his brown ones. "No, not at all. The healers' told me I am going to be on a roughage diet for a week or two to get all my insides 'back in shape' after being so bruised up and then on a liquid diet. I'm just not looking forward; I am a meat and potatoes kind of gal."

Man-at-Arms smiled sympathetically. Lightening suddenly flashed outside the windows, causing them both to jump. The thunder crashed loudly and Leah suppressed a shiver. Rain started to tap loudly on the window. Leah looked out at the rain and an uneasy feeling crept down her back. "Duncan, do you have a way to check how far a storm stretches?"

Man-at-arms was confused by this question but he answered her anyway. "Yes, of course."

Leah didn't turn her gaze from the rain covered windows. He could see a frown develop across her face and a worry line appeared between her eyebrows. It looked almost like she was straining to hear something. She jumped a bit when the lightening flashed again but kept watching the rain as she spoke. "I think you should see what the weather is doing where ever Teela is."

Man-at-Arms smiled indulgently and chuckled. "Leah, Teela is a grown woman and captain of the guard she can handle fixing a generator even in the rain."

He was surprised when her hand reached over to grasp his forearm. Even through his armor he could feel her strong grip. She locked her eyes with his. "No. Duncan, over the years I have come to trust my intuition. You have to believe me. There is something wrong." She glanced away for a moment. "Please just humor me and if nothing else just contact Teela, make sure she is alright. The worst that will happen is she will laugh about the unnecessary call."

Her vehemence surprised him, and nodding silently, he went to a panel on the wall. As he touched several of the key pads Orko floated into the room. He was carrying a small bouquet of flowers. "Hi Leah. Are you feeling better?" he asked as he handed the flowers to her.

Leah brightened at the sight of the diminutive magician. Nodding, she smiled at the Trollan. "I'm feeling much better, thank you, Orko. These flowers are very pretty. Could you get me a vase to put them in?"

The little magician immediately flipped the top of his hat open a produce a container for the flowers. Leah had just placed them on the stand when Man-at-Arms spoke. She could hear a tinge of worry had crept into his voice even though he was trying to hide it. "Orko, you need to find Prince Adam. There is no answer from the outstation and I can't get an answer from Teela. He can contact He-Man. I will get a wind raider prepared and meet him in the hanger."

Orko flew out of the room as quickly as he could. Duncan watched him go and then turned to excuse himself before leaving Leah. He was surprised to see her climbing out of bed and reaching for a heavy pair of pants lying over a chair.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Leah only glanced up at him as she pulled the pants on over the light leggings she already wore. "I'm coming with you."

Duncan's eyebrows nearly disappeared under the edge of his helmet. "No, you're not." Leah started to protest but Man-at-Arms stepped forward and firmly took hold of her shoulders. "You are still healing. It may be nothing more than a disconnected communications cable…"

"…Or it may not." Leah interrupted him.

Man-at-Arms grinned at her indulgently, sighing inwardly. This argument was one he used to have with Teela on a regular basis when she was still training. "If it is not, you are still not completely healed and it makes no sense to be putting yourself in harm's way in your current condition." He didn't want to doubt her abilities as a solider but he also had no idea if she could defend herself in a battle even if she was well. He wisely did not say as much.

For a long moment she stared at him, challenging him to stop her if she tried to come along anyway. Then she gave in with a sigh and Duncan felt the tension in the room melt away as she nodded in agreement.

He gave her a curt nod and let go of her shoulders. "I give you my word; I will let you know when we get back." He started for the door.

Leah called out after him. "Duncan…" He paused in the doorway. "Even if I am asleep, wake me up. I want to know that everything is alright." He nodded and took off at a jog through the hallways towards the hanger bay.

Leah paced back and forth across the room for several minutes before stopping to stare out the window into the rain. In a lightening flash she could see a wind raider climbing into sky. A voice from the doorway made her jump. She hadn't heard any footsteps. "Leah?" She spun around to find Orko floating in the doorway. He was holding a small flat computer tablet. The magician floated over and handed her the panel. "Man-at-Arms asked me to give you this. He said this will show you what the weather is doing." He pointed to two black dots on the map. "This is the castle and this is the outpost where Teela is at. And this flashing blue dot is the wind raider." Leah nodded and Orko floated out of the room to inform the king and queen what was going on. She crossed the room to a chair near the windows. Pulling the light blanket from the back of the chair she wrapped it around herself and sank back into the deep chair. Sighing, she studied the map. The worst of the storm was heading right towards the outpost and if it stayed moving at the same speed it was it would get there nearly the same time as the wind raider.

----- -----

Evil-Lyn smiled and laughed as she stared up at the strengthening storm. The storm she had conjured combined with the swamp creatures Skeletor had Beastman summon would surely destroy the already damaged outpost. She stood up from where she had been kneeling on a small knoll just outside the forest. By this time tomorrow she would be back at Snake Mountain with her prisoner. She scowled at how every chance she had over the past few days had been disrupted by Man-at-Arms' appearance to check on the woman. She grinned again. Her plan was simple and fool proof. The storm and the creatures would keep Teela from returning. Her absence the next day would call Man-at-Arms away to find his daughter and assist with repairs to the outpost. Without him there she would finally have a chance to capture her prey. By the time Man-at-Arms and the others returned to the palace she will have the Earth woman and be gone.

----- -----

Man-at-Arms circled the outpost with the wind raider once before finding a place to land the craft. There were no lights on in any of the buildings and no sign of people. He-man leapt out of the craft as soon as it came to a stop, drawing his sword as he did. "I guess Teela didn't get the generator fixed."

Man-at-Arms scanned the science station, trying to find signs of the people there. Behind them in the swamp a creature let out a roar as the rain began coming down again. "Well, so much for getting ahead of the rain." He started walking towards the small out building that housed the generator. "I'll see if I can get the power back on before we go up to the building.

He-man nodded and fell in step beside his friend. As they approached the lean-to protection around the generator they could hear movement inside. Man-at-Arms silently placed his back against the wall and nodded to He-man. As he jumped forward raising his sword, Man-at-Arms swung around raising his blaster and shouting. "Stay where you are!"

"Father! Wait!" He-man and Duncan looked to see Teela crouched down alongside the generator. A flood of relief spread over Man-at-Arms. Other than an ugly group of cuts across her forehead, she looked unharmed. He-man glanced around for anyone else in the small lean-to before reaching out an arm to help Teela to her feet.

"What happened Teela? I thought Duncan said this was only going to take the afternoon."

She brushed off her hands and looked back and forth between the two men. "I thought so, too. When I got started it was more involved than I thought it would be. Several of the circuits were completely fused. Then this storm kicked up and messed up several of the other systems. The scientists wouldn't let me out of the complex for a while. I finally talked them into letting me out here to try to finish the repairs and get the shields back up before the worst of the weather hit. I didn't expect anyone to come looking until tomorrow. How did you know something was wrong?"

Man-at-Arms had been looking at one of the power couplings when she asked the question. For some reason he felt a bit uncomfortable admitting that Leah had been the reason he discovered the communications were down. Teela merely nodded and turned back to He-man.

"How did that happen?" he asked, pointing at her forehead.

Teela reached up to gingerly finger the cuts. One of the trees came down near the complex. When it hit the ground one of the branches splintered off. A flying chunk hit me."

The group jumped as lightening flashed again and the thunder cracked almost immediately. In the flash they could see a group of swamp beasts stalking forward towards the lean-to. "Father!"

"I saw them."

He-man brought his sword up, stepping ahead of his friends to shield them. In the next flash of lightening a beam from Man-at-Arms blaster shot past his shoulder to stun one of the large ape-like creatures. Teela grabbed a large downed branch and swung it towards one creature, landing a solid blow to its head. As the beast retreated back, He-man rushed forward to meet two more of them. He grasped each of them by their arms and spun around to throw them back towards the swamp. He turned around to find Man-at-Arms fending off two more creatures. He-man closed the distance to his friend, picking up another of the creatures from behind. The two men were just getting the situation in hand when the storm picked up, becoming stronger again. A large gust of wind drove the rain into their eyes, making it hard to see.

Luckily it also forced the last few of the swamp creatures to seek the safety of the trees. The sound of splintering and creaking wood was followed by a scream from Teela. The two men whirled around and watched the scene before them unfold in slow motion. One of the ancient trees had lost the fight with the storm and was falling. Teela had turned just in time to see the tree coming down on top of her. She raised her arms to protect her head as best she could while the branches came crashing down.

Duncan's breath caught in his throat. He was frozen in place while He-man rushed forward, picking up the tree and tossing it aside like a piece of brush. Man-at-Arms recovered quickly and was at his daughter's side as He-man carefully picked up her unconscious form. "Duncan, I'll get her back to the wind raider. You see what you can do about the shield generator, and then we will go check the people in the science station."

Man-at-Arms nodded and quickly went to work. Teela had most of the repairs finished and by the time He-man returned the shield was glowing a soft blue around the science complex. He made sure the shield extended far enough to enclose the wind raider before they started for the station. Halfway to the science station they were met by the station leaders. After several minutes of brief discussion the scientists assured them there was no need for them to stay now that the shield was up and running again. A few moments later the two men were back in the aircraft and on the way back to the palace. Man-at-Arms tended to his daughters wounds on the flight back. He cleaned the cuts and scrapes and splinted her arm as He-man flew. He was certain her arm was broken. After she was as comfortable as he could make her, he sat back and considered the evening's events.

A glance at the older man told He-man there was something bothering him. "What's the matter Duncan?"

Man-at-Arms sighed and thought a moment more before answering. "The chief scientist said it was strange how the weather changed so drastically for this time of year. The lightening was only a few flashes aside from the one that managed to knock out the generator. A storm with enough power to do that damage to the generator should have lasted for hours not minutes." He glanced at Teela's still form and admitted what was truly bothering him. "The tree only broke her arm but if Leah hadn't insisted we check, who knows what might have happened. If Teela hadn't heard those beasts come up in the storm while she was working…" He left the sentence hang. He-man nodded and they continued the rest of the way home in silence.

Once they reached the palace, Man-at-Arms called for the medics to bring a stretcher for Teela. They had her settled into the infirmary and her arm in a cast in less than an hour. They were nearly finished with the cast when she woke up, much to the relief of her father. Duncan hadn't left her side the entire time the healers had worked on her. She started to ask what happened and he shushed her. "We will talk in the morning. You get some sleep now." She smiled at his tone, the same he had used when she was a little girl woken up with a nightmare. She nodded and rested back into the pillows.

Satisfied that she was alright, he headed for the door. "Father…" He turned to see her looking at him, her sleepy eyes laughing with mischief. "Tell Leah I said thanks."

Duncan walked silently through the empty halls of the palace. When he reached Leah's room he raised a hand and softly knocked on the door. When he received no answer he turned away to go to his own room. Then he grinned to himself, remembering her adamant instructions to wake her if she was asleep. He quietly opened the door and a beam of light fell across Leah. She had fallen asleep tucked up in the chair near her bed. She had the tablet he had asked Orko to give her resting on her lap in her loose fingers. He carefully plucked up the panel and placed it on the nearby window sill. Bending down he picked up the blanket she had at one time been covered with. He tucked the blanket around her and stepped back, looking at her as she slept. He didn't see anyway that she could possibly be comfortable in the position she was in and even if she was, he was sure she would wake in the morning stiff as a board. Deciding there was only one thing to do about it, he stepped forward and stooped to carefully pick her up. She was heavier than he would have expected from her small frame. He turned and crossed the small distance to lay her across her bed. He covered her with the blankets and was just leaving when she stirred in her sleep. He paused a moment. Her eyes blinked open, he wasn't sure she really saw he was there until she said his name, her voice quiet and thick with sleep. "Duncan?" He nodded, stepping back to the edge of her bed. "Was everything alright?"

He gave her the same instructions he had given Teela. "We can talk in the morning. Go back to sleep. We are all back safely."

Still more asleep than awake, Leah nodded and let her eyes fall closed. He could tell she was falling back into sleep by her voice when she spoke and her steady, even breathing. "You're buying breakfast then."

He grinned at the statement. The rain was still falling outside but now it was a gentle rain running down the windows. The soft sound filled the room as he stood for a few minutes more to make sure she was back to sleep before leaving for his own room to take his own advice.


End file.
